Pizza Magazine - April 2017

usually a pretty big media spectacle, too, so you get a lot of coverage. We also have no rules for visiting chefs, so we let them do whatever they want: chicken, ranch, pineapple— whatever they like! Our customers and the media get a kick out of that. Finally, you get great ideas. One of our early guest chefs made an amazing vegetarian pizza, and I loved the way he prepped the mushrooms, which we could then incorporate into our own prep process.

Dorsey: Existing brands create pop-ups for experience
marketing, which is huge right now. It’s a great way to
utilize a different space and to challenge what consumers
think of your concept. You kind of have a blank slate,
because you’re not confined to how your restaurant looks
or is seen. It’s a good way to extend your brand. But there
are a lot of unexpected costs and preplanning needs that
people should be aware of!

Woodhouse: Having a cross-promotion with an established business gives you the opportunity to instantly create a level of trust, because you’re promoting to another company’s customer base. You don’t have to invest a large amount of cash for a new, hopefully viable sales stream, and you get great content to share with your followers on social media, complete with photos. It shows that your business is creative, flexible and cool. And you’re able to gain cash flow in both typically slower sales seasons and busier times.

PMQ: WHAT TYPE OF POP-UP PARTNERS WORK
BEST WITH PIZZERIAS?

Jerrier: Work with anyone who has a good following in your town: food truck guys, big-name chefs, media personalities (especially if they’re not cooks), even food writers. We had Daniel Vaughn, the barbecue editor for Texas Monthly, in for a night; he made a couple of amazing pizzas, and he’s just a home cook! With pop-ups, we’re trying to generate buzz and a crowd, so your best bet is

“Pop-ups are also a good way to bring two different crowds together; you get the opportunity to introduce your restaurant to the fans of the visiting chef, and your regular customers get to try something unique at their favorite restaurant.”

—JAY JERRIER, CANE ROSSO

Texas-based Cane Rosso plans to pop up in locales as far away as Toronto and New York, using these opportunities to share its delicacies and undertake culinary research.